State lawmakers in New Mexico are investigating whether Jeffrey Epstein trafficked and sexually abused young women and girls at his Zorro Ranch property outside Santa Fe after previous investigations closed without any charges.
New Mexico’s state House voted unanimously to establish what lawmakers are calling a “truth commission” to hear from survivors and find out what exactly happened at the ranch after the wealthy and well-connected sex offender bought the property in 1993.
The investigatory subcommittee will have subpoena power to collect testimony, records and other evidence to “put the whole story together,” according to Democratic state Rep. Andrea Romero.
New Mexico residents “deserve to know the truth about what went on at the Zorro Ranch and who knew about it,” she said in a statement after Monday’s vote.
“We have heard years of allegations and rumors about Epstein’s activities in New Mexico, but unfortunately, federal investigations have failed to put together an official record,” she said.
“With this Truth Commission, we can finally fill in the gaps by investigating the failures that led to the horrific allegations of abuse and crime at Zorro Ranch, so we can learn from them and prevent such atrocities from taking place in our state going forward,” according to Romero.
Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide in 2025, was pictured at Zorro Ranch, and other survivors of his abuse, including Annie Farmer and “Jane,” have described the abuse they experienced under Epstein and Maxwell at the property.
The state’s 2019 criminal investigation into Epstein’s activities in New Mexico closed within a year without any charges filed. Epstein died in jail that summer while awaiting trial on federal trafficking charges in New York. His death was ruled a suicide.
Following the passage of the federal Epstein Files Transparency Act, the Department of Justice has released more than three million documents, including more than 2,000 videos and 180,000 images, in its files stemming from state and federal investigations into the late sex offender and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Last week, New Mexico’s Department of Justice wrote a letter to federal officials demanding unredacted copies of an anonymous email from 2019 to a local radio host saying that “foreign girls” died of strangulation at Zorro Ranch.
The state’s Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richards also urged state and federal investigators to probe a “disturbing allegation” that two girls were buried near the ranch.
The newly launched subcommittee in the state legislature will operate through the end of the year on a budget of $2m, funded by a 2023 settlement between state Attorney General Raul Torrez and several financial services companies over failures to identify abuses at the property.
Epstein bought the ranch, which has its own airstrip and helipad, from former New Mexico Governor Bruce King. The property — which includes an airstrip, helipad and 26,700sqft hilltop mansion, where the late billionaire sex offender is accused of abusing women and girls over a 26-year period — was first put up for sale in July 2021, two years after Epstein’s death. It was valued at $27.5m at that time.
The property was purchased by a businessman who supports President Donald Trump and is running for Texas comptroller, according to state records. Don Huffines, 67, a self-described “MAGA Trump Republican,” is behind an entity called San Rafael Ranch LLC, which The Santa Fe New Mexican traced to Huffines through public records requests.
The property was valued for tax purposes at $21.1m for the 2023 fiscal year, and the LLC argued that Epstein’s “notoriety” and its higher sales price merited a lower valuation.
The Santa Fe County assessor later revalued the property for that tax year at $13.4m, and the address was changed from 49 Zorro Ranch Road to 49 Rancho San Rafael Road in 2024.
His campaign website describes him as a “Trump Republican” who wants to “DOGE” the state’s government, a reference to the Department of Government Efficiency, the Elon Musk-led effort to slash federal budgets, fire thousands of workers and cancel federal contracts and grant funding.
He also touts endorsements from “top MAGA leaders”, including Texas Senator Ted Cruz and the late right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
“Four years after Mr Epstein’s death, the Huffines family purchased property in New Mexico listed at public auction whose proceeds benefited his victims. Prior to the auction listing, they had never visited the property,” Huffines’ campaign spokesperson Allen Blakemore told The Independent.
“The owners have never been approached by local, state or federal law enforcement requesting access to the San Rafael Ranch,” he added. “If, and when they do, of course they will be granted full and complete cooperation.”
If you are based in the USA, and you or someone you know needs mental health assistance right now, call or text 988 or visit 988lifeline.org to access online chat from the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This is a free, confidential crisis hotline that is available to everyone 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are in another country, you can go to www.befrienders.org to find a helpline near you. In the UK, people having mental health crises can contact the Samaritans at 116 123 or jo@samaritans.org
